


Living A Nightmare

by MiniSuga127



Category: ITZY (Band), TOMORROW X TOGETHER | TXT (Korea Band), 방탄소년단 | Bangtan Boys | BTS
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Alternate Universe - Magic, Another crackheaded journey, Broken Friendships, Dreams, Gen, Ghosts, Haunted classrooms, I literally don't know what else to tag, It's just temporary tho..., Magiccccc, Murder😬, Nightmares, Shud I tag major character death?, TXT are kinda reckless, Temporary Character Death, Visions, eternally mv, horror?, it's gonna get crazy, read the tags, time travel?
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-07-27
Updated: 2020-11-09
Packaged: 2021-03-06 03:47:23
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 11
Words: 16,447
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25556830
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MiniSuga127/pseuds/MiniSuga127
Summary: Soobin didn't believe in ghosts or spirits or really anything to do with magic. And neither did any of his friends. So when a bunch of students from his school started spreading stories about a supposed “haunted” hallway and the classroom it led to, Soobin and his friends were tempted to visit this so-called “Nightmare Corridor” and prove everyone wrong.Let's just say… Things didn't go as planned. Not that day, and definitely not the next few years.
Comments: 39
Kudos: 26





	1. What's The Worst That Could Happen?

**Author's Note:**

> I've been meaning to start this and I've FINALLY done it. I had the idea after the eternally mv so hopefully this story is half as good as that freaking movie of an mv. Anywhooooo let start!

Soobin couldn't help it.

He laughed out loud at what he had just heard.

Had his dance class really fallen prey to the countless myths and rumors about the existence of magic and ghosts?

In all his years at the school, he'd seen and heard the craziest things, but none were as crazy as the legend of the ‘Nightmare Corridor’. In fact, the legend was _so_ crazy that most people didn't even believe in it. 

Soobin thought that made sense of course. And so did the rest of his friends. Things like magic and ghosts just didn't exist in the real world and that was that.

The ‘Nightmare Corridor’ was just another story among many and there was no reason to take it seriously.

Soobin thought his entire dance class had been made of smart and rational people. The ones that didn't believe in such nonsense, but apparently he had been wrong, if what he had just heard one of his classmates say was anything to go by.

“You can't be serious?” He asked, fighting to wipe the smile off his face as he turned to face Yeji, a girl from his dance class who was currently sitting in the corner of their practice room, talking to a boy named Renjun.

Yeji frowned, her eyes narrowing.

“ _Yes,_ I am.” She said, forcefully.

“Hm? What's she talking about?”

Soobin turned to see Yeonjun standing next to him, holding out a water bottle for him, his eyes curious and questioning.

Soobin smirked and gestured to the two on the floor.

“You know the ‘Nightmare Corridor’?” Soobin asked, making quotation marks in the air.

“No way!” Yeonjun glanced at the two, holding back a laugh. “Don't tell me you guys actually believe in that?”

Renjun looked uncomfortable as he looked away from the two boys.

“I mean… You guys don't?” He muttered.

Soobin shook his head, becoming serious.

“No, we don't. Magic doesn't exist. Come on, you guys, you can't be serious.”

Soobin had been messing around in the beginning, but these were his classmates. And even if he wasn't exactly friends with them, he had to make them see sense.

He knelt down in front of them, Yeonjun following suit.

Just at that moment, their other friends, Kai, Beomgyu and Taehyun, joined in.

“What're y'all up to?” Beomgyu questioned.

Yeji glanced at the newcomers and sighed, shaking her head.

“Nothing…” She muttered, and moved to stand.

“No wait.” Soobin said, reaching out to grab her hand.

She stopped and glared at him but sat back down.

“What?” She asked, begrudgingly.

“Why don't you tell us why you believe in this so called… Nightmare Corridor?” Soobin asked, no longer mocking.

Yeji sighed, her expression also becoming serious.

“Wait!” Kai yelled suddenly.

Everyone turned to him, curiously.

“I haven't been here for that long. I'm still kinda confused as to what the Nightmare Corridor is.”

“Ah, right…” Yeonjun sighed, taking the lead in explaining to the maknae. “You know how everyone avoids the fifth floor?”

Kai nodded.

“Well, the fifth floor actually only has one room and it's a dance classroom. The lights literally never work in the hallway leading to it and it just overall gives a creepy vibe.”

Kai hummed in response, frowning slightly.

“But is that really enough reason to be scared of it?” He asked.

“Wait for it.” Yeji muttered.

“The hallway isn't the scary part.” Yeonjun told him. “It's the classroom itself. There's a myth that a girl died in that classroom once when her classmates bullied her and trapped her inside. Apparently if you fall asleep there, you have terrifying nightmares that end up coming true somehow. Word has it that the ghost girl is who makes people have those dreams and then makes them come true.”

“But, you see, that's absolute bullshit.” Soobin sighed. “We're not living in a fantasy novel, you guys. This is the real world, and magic and ghosts don't exist.”

“That's what I'm saying.” Yeonjun said.

“There's really no reason to believe myths like that.” Taehyun spoke up as Beomgyu nodded in agreement.

Kai nodded, understanding their logic.

“They're right.” He voiced. “So why believe in it you guys?”

“Well…” Yeji sighed. “For one, the seniors never go there. Why would they avoid it if nothing was wrong? You know how the older kids can be. Always doing something reckless. But they purposely avoid the Corridor. Why is that? And not only do they avoid it physically, they even freak out if someone starts talking about it. Isn't that kinda suspicious? And… There's one other thing… Renjun, wanna explain?”

She turned to the boy, a solemn look in her eyes and Renjun sighed heavily before beginning to speak.

“Recently, Haechan, a friend of mine, went to the Nightmare Corridor and well… Let's just say things got really weird, really fast…”

<>\<>\<>\<>\<>\<>\<>\<>\<>\<>\<>\<>\<>

_“Alright, my turn!” Jaemin said. “Haechan! Truth or dare.”_

_“Hmm, dare.” Haechan said._

_All the boys looked at Haechan in disbelief, and laughed. The boy never went for dares._

_And Jaemin knew that too. He grinned slightly._

_“Are you sure? You never do dares…”_

_But Haechan just laughed and shrugged._

_“Hence why I thought I should try one.” He said simply._

_Jaemin’s smirk only grew and everyone was sure he was thinking of a dare Haechan would never be able to do._

_“Alright then…” He said. “I dare you to go down Nightmare Corridor and stay there for at least two hours. Oh and if you don't fall asleep, it doesn't count.”_

_And Haechan grinned and nodded._

_“Alright I'll do it once I leave.”_

_No one was smiling anymore, instead they were all staring at the boy in disbelief._

_“Yo, I was just messing…” Jaemin said uncertainly. “If you really wanna do a dare, I'll give you an easier one…”_

_Haechan shook his head adamantly, smiling good naturedly._

_“Guys, it's fine. I don't believe any of that stuff anyways. What's the worst that could happen?”_

_The boys tried to convince him not to, but in the end they left him alone, hoping he'd freak out and turn back on his own._

<>\<>\<>\<>\<>\<>\<>\<>\<>\<>\<>\<>\<>

_“Haechan, you can't be serious…”_

_“Come on, Renjun, you don't believe that stuff do you?”_

_Renjun didn't respond, only followed the boy desperately as he made his way to the elevator._

_“Listen, just… If things start to get weird, you come right back ok?”_

_“Of course.” Haechan replied, smiling at his friend. “I promise, nothing’s gonna happen to me. I'll be at your place this time tomorrow and we'll both be laughing about how crazy everyone is to believe this stuff.”_

_Renjun forced a smile, taking a step back as the elevator doors opened._

_“I hope so, Haechan… I sincerely hope so…”_

_ <>\<>\<>\<>\<>\<>\<>\<>\<>\<>\<>\<>\<> _

_Renjun sat waiting for his friend's text for what felt like hours, but was really only a couple._

_It turned out, Haechan did make it back and while the boy seemed unbothered as he talked about everyone's foolishness, Renjun could see a sort of uncertainty in his eyes._

_Everytime Renjun tried asking what he had dreamt of in the classroom, Haechan avoided the question._

_“Oh, nothing. It was something stupid.” He'd say, nonchalantly, the smile still on his face._

_A week passed and nothing happened._

_That is until one Saturday night, Renjun got a call from Haechan in the middle of the night._

_“Ren…” The boy sounded like he had been crying and that immediately put Renjun on edge._

_“Can you… Come to the hospital right now?”_

_Renjun didn't need to be told twice. He immediately woke his parents and told them about the call. The three of them rushed to the hospital as fast as they could, only to hear that Haechan’s father had been in a car accident and was currently in surgery._

_While his parents comforted Haechan's mother, Renjun tried his best to console the crying boy._

_“He's not gonna make it, Ren…” He whispered._

_“No, don't say things like that. Don't worry, everything is gonna be fine.”_

_But Haechan just shook his head, a haunted look in his eyes._

_“This was my dream, Ren… I dreamt about this in the classroom…”_

_Renjun’s eyes widened as he processed what the boy had just said._

_“What…?”_

_“Well, not exactly but… My dream was similar to this…”_

_ <>~<>~<>~<>~<>~<>~<>~<>~<>~<>~<>~<> _

_~Nightmare Corridor~_

_Haechan didn't want to admit it, but the Corridor and the classroom were really giving him the creeps._

_The lights didn't flicker like in the legend, and the elevator didn't open randomly._

_In fact, the entire place seemed very well kept._

_The only thing that was slightly concerning was how he couldn't see anything outside the windows._

_It was pitch black every time he looked and once he tried opening one of them to see what was up._

_A cold gust of wind had rushed inside, making a chill ride up his spine. But he still couldn't see a thing outside._

_He'd even gone so far as to stick his hand out. He'd brought it back in quickly, not understanding why it was so cold outside._

_After that, he didn't touch anything else and just sat in a corner._

_He stared at his reflection in the mirror and was sure he was going crazy. The reflection definitely looked darker than it should be, as if the lights were dim._

_Haechan then realized why people often fell asleep after recklessly deciding to come here._

_It was so they wouldn't have to look at anything and to escape the terror of being in such a place._

_The fear they experienced while awake, made them forget what was waiting for them in their dreams and before he knew it, Haechan had fallen asleep._

  
  


_~Haechan's Dream~_

  
  


_He awoke in his bed, the sun shining through the window._

_It should have felt like any other day. There was nothing out of place, everything looked normal._

_But Haechan felt like something was missing. Something was wrong._

_He got out of bed and began to walk around, looking for what was causing his uncertainty._

_Eventually, he found himself in his parents’ bedroom. The bed was made but something was off._

_Where his father usually slept, were three roses. They were vibrant and red, his father's favorite._

_He frowned, confused as to what they were doing there, but before he could think about it any longer, the doorbell rang._

_He ran down the stairs to see the door open, his father talking to someone who was standing just outside._

_His father turned and waved at him with a smile before turning back to the person._

_Haechan crept forward to get a look at who he was talking to._

_A man dressed all in black stood there. A black hat was covering the top half of his face and he held a black briefcase in his hand._

_The man was grinning and the expression didn't look very friendly._

_Still, his father talked to him as if he was his best friend, laughing and smiling._

_He invited the man inside and Haechan immediately stepped back._

_The man came in, barely sparing Haechan a glance._

_As the man passed by the open bathroom door, Haechan caught a glimpse of his reflection and what he saw made him frown in disbelief._

_Standing there was a kindly man, dressed in a business suit, looking exactly like the best friend his father must be seeing._

_The man didn't stay for long, only chatting for a few more minutes before leaving._

_The dream cut off and suddenly it was the next day._

_Haechan was sitting at the breakfast table, watching his dad run around and tell him about how he was meeting with a friend that day._

_Haechan smiled and followed his dad to the front door._

_There was a car waiting for him and sitting in the driver's seat was the man from before._

_His hat was gone and he made eye contact with Haechan, the creepy grin returning full force._

_Haechan glanced away as his dad left with the man._

_Haechan went back upstairs on his way to his room._

_He stopped short when he noticed something strange about his parents’ room._

_The bright red roses were gone, replaced with two blood red ones._

_And they were both dead._

_Just before the dream ended, he heard the sound of a car crash._

_ <>\<>\<>\<>\<>\<>\<>\<>\<>\<>\<>\<>\<>\<> _

“He said the day before he went to the Corridor, his dad's best friend came and said they should hang out.” Renjun sighed. “Haechan never trusted the man and believes that he crashed it on purpose.”

Soobin sat there, deep in thought. This was the strangest thing he'd ever heard and he really didn't know what to make of it. One look at his friends told him they were thinking the same thing.

“Well…” Soobin said after a while. “The dream was pretty weird… Nothing from the dream _actually_ happened in real life. It's just how one interprets it.”

Apparently that was the wrong thing to say as Renjun frowned angrily.

“Well, how else was he supposed to interpret it?”

“I- I don't know but I just think it's…”

“It's what?!”

Renjun was getting worked up and the anger was spreading to everyone.

“I just don't think it's smart to correlate the two! Haechan never trusted him so he probably already thought something like that was gonna happen which led him to having a dream like that!”

“Honestly, that makes a lot more sense than what you two are saying.” Taehyun voiced, standing and crossing his arms.

Renjun stood as well, his eyes fiery and angry.

“He didn't trust him but that doesn't mean he already predicted his father's death!”

“Listen, you guys…” Soobin sighed, standing up. “Our theory at least makes more sense. Just think about it. How would a supposed ghost in an abandoned classroom give him a vision like that and then proceed to make it come true. And even if it were true, why would the ghost go through the trouble of making such a complicated dream? Just give it to him straight! What ghost has time to do something so complicated?!”

“She's doing it for revenge!” Yeji protested.

“Do you guys hear yourselves?” Yeonjun said, desperately trying to make them see sense. “Does that even make sense?”

It was clear this argument was going nowhere and Soobin was just about done, when Renjun shook his head and glared at them.

“If you think we're crazy and this is all some made up shit, then how about you guys go to Nightmare Corridor? Prove us wrong.”

“You know what? Maybe we will.” Beomgyu growled, glaring back at the boy.

“Alright then. Do it. For an entire night. And once you do, we'll admit defeat.”

“Fine.” Beomgyu said.

And with that, he stormed out of the room, his friends following behind.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Beomgyu stayed in a bad mood the entire rest of the school day, never missing a chance to glare at Renjun across the hall.

The boys spotted Yeji a couple of times, but every time they crossed paths, she looked away, pretending she was busy. She looked concerned and worried, though none of the boys could tell why.

“Hey guys, wanna crash at my place?” Yeonjun asked once their classes were over.

Everyone half-heartedly agreed, minds still occupied with the events of that day.

Yeonjun's place wasn't very far and the boys walked there, arriving in about 15 minutes.

Yeonjun's mother greeted them happily, apparently not picking up on the strange atmosphere.

Once they were all inside Yeonjun's room, Soobin turned to Beomgyu.

“Yo, Beomgyu.” He started. “You… Weren't serious about going to the Corridor… Were you?”

Beomgyu sighed and shrugged, falling onto the bed and staring up at the ceiling.

“I mean… I just said it out of anger, but… We could? It's not like we believe in that stuff anyways.”

“I'm fine with doing it .” Taehyun said.

“Yeah, we can end the rumors once and for all. It'll be fun!” Kai said. “Life is getting a little boring as it is.”

“We'll be the talk of the century.” Yeonjun said, grinning.

Soobin sighed, crossing his arms. Though he didn't believe in that stuff, he didn't think they should do something like that. Especially not overnight.

He didn't know why he felt that way, but something was giving weird vibes.

Still, his friends were all on board and he didn't want to be the odd one out. Besides, he was very tempted to prove everyone wrong.

“I guess I'm in too.” He said. “ What's the worst that could happen?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> THX for reading! I hope you guys have fun throughout this crackheaded journey and hopefully I'll see you next time all the way till the end!


	2. Sweet Nightmares

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This took some time but here it is!😊

By the time Friday came around, there were countless rumors floating around the school about the five boys and their challenge.

Soobin would be lying if he said it wasn't the slightest bit amusing every time someone came to him with a new outrageous question. Actually, it was  _ extremely  _ amusing for all the boys.

“You're all staying for a week?!”

“Is it true? You all saw your deaths in the classroom?”

“Was the ghost girl your sister?”

At some point, the boys stopped correcting people and just began confirming every ridiculous rumor.

By lunch time, the boys had gathered quite a following, students and teachers alike throwing glances and murmurs in their direction.

Surprisingly enough, no one seemed to think they were crazy for doing something so reckless. At least, no one said that to their faces.

Well… That is no one except one student.

As Soobin sat with the others, he felt her aura before even seeing or hearing her approach.

He sighed heavily and glanced at Yeonjun who was sitting across from him.

“It's Yeji isn't it?” He asked even though he already knew the answer.

Yeonjun nodded as he smirked, sharing glances with the others as Soobin turned around to face Yeji as she approached.

She stormed right up to their table, ignoring the glances and remarks when people realized where she was headed.

She stopped right in front of their table, hands on her hips and eyes fierce as she glared at them.

The boys didn't say anything, just waited for her to speak.

She stood there for a few seconds before finally asking the golden question.

“Are you crazy?” She hissed.

“Um, obviously.” Beomgyu replied with a straight face, making the others laugh.

Her expression became even more furious with the response and she let out a frustrated sigh.

“Why are you five in here anyways? Don't you always eat on the roof?” She asked, suddenly.

Soobin shrugged as he glanced at the others.

“Yeah, but the students would probably follow us and we don't want our little hideout to become  _ everyone's.” _

Yeji nodded slowly, her expression annoyed.

“Right…” She drawled. “Just say you like the attention and be done with it.”

Yeonjun grinned, a small laugh leaving him.

“Maybe that too.” He stated nonchalantly.

Yeji actually growled this time, her hands curling into fists.

“Besides that.” She said, through gritted teeth. “Why are you spreading rumors?”

“We're not spreading them.” Kai said. “We're just confirming them.”

“You say that as if it's not the same thing.” Yeji sighed.

Kai just shrugged, grinning.

Yeji sighed heavily, looking almost resigned but also incredibly irritated.

“Why are you guys even doing this? You realize if the legend is true, you guys are going to look so stupid?”

Taehyun shook his head adamantly at that.

“No we won't. If it's true, we'll look brave for going down there. And if it's not we'll look brave for proving it wrong. It's a win win.”

Yeji opened her mouth to say something else, but Beomgyu cut her off.

“Listen, why do you care anyway? And why do you sound so sure that the legend is true? You've never been down there yourself, have you?”

“No, I haven't.” Yeji’s voice lowered, as if she were about to share a secret, or as if she didn't trust her voice. “But I have lost someone to that place before.”

“Who?” Kai asked, sympathetically.

“The ghost girl from the story? Yeah, she's my little sister…”

Soobin's eyes widened at the revelation. He glanced at the others and saw that their reactions had been more or less the same.

All noise suddenly drowned itself out, as Soobin turned back to her.

He had always thought that the girl never existed. Of course, he never believed in the entire legend so he never really thought that she might be real.

Hearing it from Yeji, made it seem all more real and suddenly, Soobin wasn't sure if he wanted to go through with the whole thing.

“Seriously?” Kai muttered.

“Yes. Seriously.” Yeji sighed. “It was about five years ago… The Friday before spring break and I  _ knew _ she was getting bullied and I always tried to protect her. That day, she kept saying she didn't wanna go but I told her to just tough it out since we'd be on break after that. By the time we found her, she had died.”

Yeji paused for a second, the fire in her eyes dying a little as she dropped her gaze.

But it was only for a few seconds.

Before long, she'd lifted her eyes again, meeting everyone's gazes with determination.

“I could've stopped her but I missed that chance. I guess this is me just trying to compensate for that. I will try my best to convince you not to go, but after that my job is done. It's up to you whether or not you want to take my advice.”

And with that, Yeji walked off, not even waiting for a response back, leaving the boys in stunned silence.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

The entire day went by like that.

The boys were constantly surrounded by students asking questions, making assumptions, sometimes even praising their bravery.

All except one.

Yeji stayed true to her word, coming by every hour or so and reminding them why it was a bad idea. Sometimes she wouldn't even say anything, just give them a meaningful glance before walking away.

“Just remember. There's no going back.” She reminded them ominously.

And Soobin couldn't deny that he was spooked.

Still, they couldn't just decide to drop out.

For one, they were all just kids who couldn't find purpose and therefore, they had always been a bit reckless.

Going to places no one had ever gone, and doing things no one had ever done were just part of the job.

They were already known for this kind of stuff.

Sure, the “haunted classroom” gig was a bit much, but there's a first for everything.

And secondly, dropping out of the challenge would mean disappointing all the students, and also looking stupid which was exactly what they were trying to avoid.

And so, right after school, they went ahead and told Yeji exactly why they were still going to go ahead with it.

Yeji just sighed and nodded, her arms crossed.

“I knew it. Well… Don't say I didn't warn you.” She said simply.

Soobin sighed, trying to find the words to say to her but he couldn't. There was nothing else for them to do so he turned to face the others, his expression grim.

“Well… Let's go?”

The others simply nodded and began to make their way to the elevator.

The distance wasn't far but the short walk seemed to take years.

There were several students wandering the halls, and Soobin noticed how they were glancing at them, trying to seem natural.

But to Soobin it felt like every eye was on them.

He honestly didn't expect to see Renjun at all, but wasn't surprised when he saw him standing near the elevator.

The boy was staring straight at them, his expression dark, but his eyes hesitant and scared.

Soobin could tell he wanted to let them back down, but wouldn't for the same reasons they were still going.

As they passed by him, he dropped his gaze.

“Good luck.” He muttered, almost inaudible.

But they all heard him and just as Soobin was about to respond, Beomgyu beat him to it.

“We won't be needing it.” He said sharply, just as the elevator doors opened.

He walked inside and the others followed.

“You're such a hothead.” Yeonjun said, distracting everyone from the slowly closing doors.

“Not a hothead.” Beomgyu stated. “Just hot.”

Yeonjun glared at the boy, unimpressed when he flashed him a smile.

Beomgyu laughed before his expression suddenly became serious.

“But seriously… I just said it to show him we're not scared. It's just a classroom, you guys.”

Soobin wanted to point out that they  _ were _ scared, but he really couldn't speak for the others.

They spent the next few seconds in silence, waiting as the elevator slowly descended.

When it finally opened, they were met with a normal looking hallway, leading straight to a classroom.

The lights flashed on, sensing that someone was around, and Soobin couldn't help but notice how… Enthusiastically the lights shone. Almost as if they had been waiting for someone to come.

Soobin took the lead, slowly stepping into the hallway and walking to the classroom.

He stopped at the door, staring up at the letters and numbers written on it.

_ Room #17 _

It had been so long since anyone had gone inside, Soobin doubted anyone even remembered that classroom number.

A shiver suddenly ran through him and he dropped his gaze, slowly reaching out to touch the door knob.

He turned it slowly and eased open the door.

He reached in and turned on the lights before peeking in.

“Oh come  _ on, _ the suspense is killing me.” Beomgyu whined suddenly, breaking the silence.

He pushed through everyone and rushed into the room, using his phone to film everything.

The spell was broken and Soobin sighed, following him inside, wondering why he was so scared in the first place.

It looked like any normal dance classroom.

“Oh wow… That was a bit anti climatic…” Yeonjun muttered as they all stepped inside.

“Ugh, what are we even gonna do here all night?” Kai asked. “I'm already bored…”

Yeonjun laughed as he ran over to the end of the classroom and pulled out his phone.

“Let's just dance! What else would we do in a dance classroom?” He said as he shuffled through his playlist.

Kai laughed as he joined Yeonjun.

“Alright then, Hyung!” 

Taehyun smiled as he watched the two messing around and dancing.

“Y'all have fun doing that. I’m gonna chill and read.” Taehyun said as he sat down near them and pulled out a book from his backpack.

“I'm gonna film  _ everything. _ ” Beomgyu stated as he and Soobin sat down near the mirror.

“Hey guys, introduce yourselves to the camera.” He said. “Yeonjun, you first.”

Yeonjun laughed as Beomgyu turned his phone towards him.

“Um alright.” He began. “Hi, I'm Yeonjun and we're all inside this haunted classroom… Doesn't look very haunted…”

“It doesn't.” Beomgyu laughed, moving the camera. “Ok, you next Kai.”

“Hey, I'm Kai!” Kai said, waving animatedly. “Like Hyung just said, the place looks pretty normal. I'm just worried we'll die of boredom.”

“Speak for yourself.” Beomgyu said, laughing. “I'm having the time of my life!”

He moved the camera over to Taehyun, who was silently grinning at the scene.

“Alright, Taehyun, your turn.”

“Hi, I'm Taehyun. We're inside the classroom so… So far so good?”

Beomgyu flashed him a thumbs up and finally moved on to Soobin.

“Alright, Soobin Hyung!”

Soobin grinned at the camera.

“Hi, I'm Soobin. We're here to finally destroy the legend, but honestly… I'm not sure if it's worth waking up sore in the morning…”

That made everyone laugh out loud and Soobin smiled, glad that the experience was turning out completely opposite of what was expected.

He turned back to Beomgyu who was still filming.

“Is it live?” He asked.

Beomgyu shook his head.

“If something exciting happens, I'll put it on YouTube. I don't want people to watch a boring video, you know?”

Soobin nodded in understanding.

Beomgyu turned around momentarily, watching the others going about their business.

“The others are busy.” He said, training the camera back on Soobin.

“Anything else you'd like to say, Hyung?” Beomgyu asked, grinning.

Soobin smiled and shrugged.

“Just good night, I guess.” He said. “And sweet dreams.”

Beomgyu laughed and glanced at Soobin over the camera.

“More like sweet  _ nightmares. _ ” He said.

Soobin grinned and nodded.

“You're right.” He said.

“Sweet nightmares.”

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We're gonna have the dream chapters coming up real soon👀
> 
> Y'all can fangirl with me at...  
> Tumblr:@minisuga127  
> Twitter:@MiniSuga127
> 
> Comments motivate me!💜 thx for reading!


	3. The Dream Chapter: Tomorrow

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The first dream chapter 👀

There really wasn't anything terrifying about the classroom.

But Soobin couldn't shake the uneasy feeling that seemed intent on sticking to him.

Still, he kept the smile on his face as he silently watched the others.

It wasn't until a few minutes later that he noticed something strange about the otherwise normal looking classroom.

The windows…

Well, not the windows themselves…

But Soobin couldn't seem to see anything past them.

It was just an expanse of pitch black.

And for some reason, it was really unsettling.

Soobin didn't like it one bit, but something told him he ought to investigate.

And so, even though he was slightly terrified, he slowly got to his feet and walked over to the windows. He pressed his hands against one and leaned forward, squinting to see if he could make anything out, but no matter how hard he stared, all he saw was black.

Sighing, he moved back, only to frown in confusion when he saw that the window he was staring through was open slightly.

“Hey guys…” He said softly, catching everyone's attention.

“Hm? What's up?” Beomgyu asked from his place on the floor.

Soobin pointed at the window and turned to face everyone.

“That wasn't open when we came in…”

“Really?” Kai asked. “Maybe whoever was here before us opened it?”

Soobin shook his head.

“People don't normally just come in here, remember? And if they do, they definitely wouldn't go around touching things…”

“Is Soobinnie getting scared?” Yeonjun asked, teasingly.

Soobin glared at him and sighed, turning back to the window. He slowly reached forward and pushed the window open more.

“Maybe they wanted to see what's out there…” He muttered.

A cold gust of wind blew past him and he shivered.

“Renjun mentioned something like this right?” Taehyun asked. “I didn't think it was real… But maybe it's just really dark.”

“Ugh, close that window, Hyung. It's cold.”

Soobin shivered again and hastily shut the window. He turned around, fully intending to just go and sit in a corner, when he noticed that the door to the classroom was also slightly open.

“Looks like we forgot to close the door…” He muttered as he walked over and grabbed the door knob.

But instead of closing it, he opened it up more and peeked outside. The hallway lights were closed again and Soobin stared at the elevator that suddenly seemed very far away.

As he stared, the hallway lights flashed on suddenly, making Soobin gasp and push the door shut.

“Come on, Hyung, you'll be ok.” Beomgyu said, sympathy in his eyes.

“I'm fine…” Soobin sighed, sitting back down against the mirror. “Just… Nervous….”

“Hey, it's normal to feel a bit nervous.” Taehyun said. “Just relax. Nothing’s gonna happen, remember?”

“Right…”

They all fell into silence one more, and while Soobin wasn't even tired, his mind abruptly slipped into darkness.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

_ A wasteland… _

_ A warzone…. _

_ Complete and utter destruction… _

_ But Soobin was unphased as he walked through it all. The ruins were merely hurdles to jump across, like an obstacle course a child would attempt. _

_ The skies were dark and stormy, yet no rain fell. _

_ If anyone else were to walk through the ruins, they'd probably be filled with anxiety, wondering what on earth happened there. _

_ But Soobin walked aimlessly, paying no mind to the destruction around him. _

_ He walked with his eyes on the ground, searching for something. _

_ He hadn't been searching for long, but it was important that he find what he was looking for. _

_ He gasped in surprise, his foot hitting a small book embedded with diamonds. _

_ He smiled and bent down to pick it up. He turned it this way and that, wondering how the diamonds still shone when there was no light. _

_ He opened the front cover and found the number 17 written on the upper right hand corner and the word TOMORROW written underneath it. _

_ He glanced up and continued walking, heading towards the silhouette of a person that he saw in the distance. _

_ The distance seemed far, but Soobin made it in a few seconds, standing beside a yellow haired boy. _

_ The boy turned to him and Soobin recognized him right away. _

_ It was Yeonjun. _

_ His face was bloody and his eyes shining with tears. _

_ Soobin wordlessly handed him the book and watched as he took it, his eyes never leaving Soobin's face. _

_ “When will it end?” Yeonjun asked, sorrowfully. _

_ “Tomorrow.” Soobin replied. _

_ “Promise?” Yeonjun asked. _

_ And Soobin nodded. _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Confusing? Theories?
> 
> Y'all can fangirl with me at...  
> Tumblr:@minisuga127  
> Twitter:@MiniSuga127
> 
> Comments motivate me!💜 thx for reading!


	4. The Dream Chapter: Hope

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The next dream👀

Beomgyu grinned as he zoomed in on Soobin’s peaceful face. The boy had been asleep for about five minutes and Beomgyu couldn't get over the way he looked like a child taking a nap.

“Soobin Hyung is still asleep…” He said, catching Taehyun’s attention.

Taehyun glanced over at the boy and grinned.

“I have no idea how he’s still asleep when these two are being so chaotic.” He said, laughing slightly as he gestured to Yeonjun and Kai.

They were really getting into their little dance battle and Yeonjun had somehow found a loudspeaker in the supplies closet. They had hooked up Yeonjun’s phone to it and were now blasting music without a care in the world.

And yet, Soobin slept on silently.

“I wonder what he’s dreaming about.” Taehyun muttered.

“Hmm…” Beomgyu hummed thoughtfully as he focused the camera back on his Hyung. “Should I move him? He’s going to hurt his neck leaning against the mirror like that…”

“You can if you want. But he might wake up soon anyways.”

Beomgyu thought about it for a few seconds, before putting his phone down and walking over to Soobin. He gently lowered the boy to the ground and sighed.

“He’s gonna wake up sore either way…” He muttered as he went back to his phone.

He silently filmed Yeonjun and Kai for a bit before abruptly setting his phone down again and lying down on the floor with a sigh.

“Done filming?” Taehyun asked.

“Yeah, my arm hurts for now.” Beomgyu replied, staring up at the ceiling.

“What if you miss something exciting?” Taehyun asked, grinning.

Beomgyu smiled at him and sighed.

“I’m beginning to think nothing interesting is gonna happen any time soon.”

“You might be right about that…” Taehyun sighed.

The two fell silent again and Beomgyu resumed his staring contest with the ceiling. The lights had seemed extremely bright before, but Beomgyu couldn’t help but notice how dim they looked now.

As he watched the lights seemed to be getting dimmer and dimmer. He frowned in confusion. No one else seemed to be noticing it. Was something wrong with his eyes?

The last thing Beomgyu remembered doing was reaching for his phone before darkness suddenly clouded his mind.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

_ Beomgyu had had strange dreams in the past. _

_ More than he cared to admit. _

_ But none came close to the one he was currently in. _

_ He was standing in a dark room, lit only by a dim light. The dim light came from nowhere and stretched on as far as his eye could see. _

_ Does this room ever end? _

_ He blinked and suddenly the previously empty room was surrounded with mirrors. All around him, all he saw were reflections of himself. _

_ He looked pretty normal. He was wearing the same hoodie he’d been wearing in the classroom. He was even carrying his phone with him. _

_ He glanced down at the phone to see that it was filming but that the time wasn’t moving. The numbers at the top remained at zero even though it clearly said recording next to them. _

_ Beomgyu was suddenly shaken from his thoughts when the mirrors disappeared, replaced with a large, imposing door. _

_ He tilted his head to see the number 17 written in big gold letters in the middle of the door. Reaching forward, he turned the door knob and tried pushing the door open. _

_ It slowly creaked open a bit, before stopping halfway. Glancing up, he saw that the door was stopped by a chain stretching from the door to the wall. _

_ Beomgyu peeked inside and saw what looked like a Hogwarts professor’s office. If the mood wasn’t so tense, Beomgyu might have been overjoyed upon seeing something from his childhood in the dream. _

_ As it was, the mood  _ was  _ very tense and Beomgyu was only confused. _

_ As he watched he suddenly heard the sound of a door slamming shut and angry footsteps walking into the room. _

_ Beomgyu’s jaw dropped as he saw  _ himself _ standing there, looking furious. He looked completely different. Beomgyu had never seen such an expression on anyone’s face, let alone his own. _

_ He was wearing a black jacket and looked for all the world like an imposing gang leader. _

_ Beomgyu didn’t know what to think but before he could even try to formulate thoughts, a blast of… something knocked his doppleganger off his feet and threw him against the wall. _

_ He dropped a book that Beomgyu hadn’t even noticed before. The book flew open to the front cover and Beomgyu squinted to read what was written there. _

_ At the last second, he lifted his phone and zoomed in, making out the number 17 written on the upper right hand corner and the word HOPE written underneath it. _

_ The other Beomgyu growled and snatched up the book, glaring at someone Beomgyu couldn’t see. _

_ “Why are you doing this Beomgyu?! Why won’t you just move on?!” The attacker demanded. _

_ Beomgyu thought the voice sounded familiar, but his mind was too blank to try and think about it. _

_ “Because there’s still hope!” The other Beomgyu yelled. _

_ And with that he lunged forward, leaving Beomgyu’s field of vision and attacking whoever was bothering him. Beomgyu tried to reach in with his hand and record what was happening, but in the end all he saw was his twin standing there, breathing heavily and covered in blood. _

_ Beomgyu had a bad feeling that blood didn’t belong to him. _

_ The last thing he saw before the dream ended was his evil twin staring straight into the camera. _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hopefully there will be one more dream chapter today 😊
> 
> Y'all can fangirl with me at...  
> Tumblr:@minisuga127  
> Twitter:@MiniSuga127
> 
> Comments motivate me!💜 thx for reading!


	5. The Dream Chapter: Promise

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And here it is 😊

Yeonjun sighed heavily as he finally sat down, completely exhausted.

Kai laughed as he turned off the music and knelt down in front of the boy.

“Danced too hard, did ya?” He asked teasingly.

Yeonjun just smiled, too drained to respond.

“If you were doing that for the camera, then you should probably know Beomgyu has been asleep for the past few minutes.” 

“What?!” Yeonjun yelled in distress. “I danced for nothing?!”

Kai laughed out loud, patting the boy on the shoulder before standing up again.

“Hey, keep it down, you guys.” Taehyun said, glancing over at the two. “I'm trying to read.”

“So not because you don't want us to wake up the others?” Yeonjun asked, grinning.

“Ah, well that too…”Taehyun said, a small smile on his face.

“Alright, we'll be quiet.” Kai promised.

“Anyways…” He said, turning back to Yeonjun. “Hyung, I'm gonna do the dance again and can you just point out my mistakes?”

Yeonjun nodded as Kai started up the music again and began to run through the choreo.

He pointed out a few mistakes here and there and a couple of missed or slow steps, but after a while he stopped.

He was just too tired to do anything at the moment, even speak.

The noise drowned itself out and suddenly all Yeonjun could think about was the exhaustion weighing down on him.

He knew what was happening but he didn't try to stop it.

Before long, his eyes slid shut and darkness clouded his mind.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

_ When Yeonjun opened his eyes, he saw that the action made no difference to his surroundings. _

_ It was still just as dark as it had been when his eyes were shut. _

_ A dim light suddenly appeared out of nowhere, illuminating his path. _

_ He was in a building or a hallway of sorts and he could see behind him and in front of him as far as his vision could go. _

_ Seeing nothing else to do, he began walking forward and hoped to find an exit. _

_ It wasn't long before the hallway ended and Yeonjun walked out of the hallway to find himself outside. _

_ His eyes widened as he took in the dark sky and crumbled ruins of what once had been a bustling city. _

_ He stepped carefully around the debris and broken glass, trying to get to the top of the mound of broken cement. _

_ He had to get a better look at his surroundings and used this as motivation to climb. _

_ Once he reached the top, he realized it didn't make much of a difference. He could only see the destruction from a clearer vantage point and that was all. _

_ Sighing, he turned to step off of the mound, and saw something that made his breath catch in his throat. _

_ There, lying on the floor, was his own dead body. _

_ It was clearly him, there was no doubt about it. Even if he was wearing strange clothes and his head was slightly turned away, there was no mistaking who it was. _

_ The bright yellow hair was streaked with red, as was most of his face and hands. _

_ One hand was loosely clutching a book that was open to the front cover. Squinting,Yeonjun made out the number 17 and the word PROMISE written on it. _

_ A cloaked figure stood above Yeonjun's body, their body and face obscured. _

_ The figure sighed as they leaned down and grabbed the book. _

_ “The most sorrowful death…” The figure muttered. “Is one that results in a broken promise…” _

_ The figure reached into their cloak and pulled out a purple flower that Yeonjun immediately recognized as a hyacinth. _

_ With one last sigh, the figure dropped the flower near Yeonjun's body and walked away. _

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The last two dream chapters shud be out tmr😊
> 
> Y'all can fangirl with me at...  
> Tumblr:@minisuga127  
> Twitter:@MiniSuga127
> 
> Comments motivate me!💜 thx for reading!


	6. The Dream Chapter: Secret

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I got a little behind today so sadly there will only be one dream chapter today😔

Kai didn’t even notice Yeonjun had fallen asleep until he was halfway through his dance.

Still, he kept dancing until the song ended. Sighing heavily, he shut off the music and glanced at his Hyung, a tired smile on his face.

“Poor kid. Tired himself out.” Kai muttered.

Taehyun let out a short laugh, catching Kai’s attention. Kai smiled and walked over to him, sitting down next to the boy.

“Looks like you’re well on your way there as well.” Taehyun said, teasingly.

“Nah…” Kai said, laughing. “Dancing just made me more pumped up.”

“Did it now?” Taehyun said, smiling. He glanced around at the room, eyes pausing on each of his sleeping Hyungs.

“Do you think we should try waking them up?” Taehyun asked, quietly.

Kai stayed silent for a few seconds, his eyes sweeping the room.

“Maybe not… What if they really are having nightmares? Wouldn’t waking them up scare them?”

Taehyun glanced back down at Kai, his gaze stern and curious.

“You’re not starting to believe it’s all true, are you?” He asked, carefully.

“No…” Kai said, slowly. “But you gotta admit… This place _does_ give creepy vibes…”

“Hmm, you’re not wrong…” Taehyun muttered as his gaze landed on Soobin. “Soobin Hyung’s been asleep for some time now… He would have woken up by now if he was having a nightmare… Maybe we could try waking him up?”

Kai hummed thoughtfully as he wordlessly stood and walked over to Soobin. He knelt down and shook him gently, softly calling out to him. The boy slept on, completely oblivious. Kai frowned and shook him harder, calling out his name louder. At some point, he even flicked his forehead, but Soobin didn’t wake.

“He won’t wake up…” Kai muttered.

“Here, lemme try.” Taehyun said, walking over to the two boys.

Kai silently walked back to where Taehyun was sitting before and quietly watched as Taehyun tried to wake their Hyung.

Suddenly, waking the others up didn’t seem so important and Kai was strikingly aware of how tired he was. His mind suddenly slowed down and became foggy.

What was he doing here again? 

Did it really matter?

Before he knew what was happening, Kai’s mind slipped into the dark abyss of sleep.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

_Kai didn’t know why he was feeling this way or what he was doing here._

_All he knew was that he was terrified and that he had to get out of the dark room he was currently in._

_It was dark as far as his eyes could see, only a dim light covering everything._

_He took a hesitant step forward, only for his foot to collide with something on the floor._

_Glancing down, he saw an open book lying on the floor right in front of him. Frowning, he bent down and picked it up, looking at the front cover curiously. On the upper right hand corner, the number 17 was written and right underneath it was the word SECRET._

_Kai was confused, but ultimately decided he didn’t care enough to try and figure it out. All he wanted to do was go somewhere where there was light._

_He took a few more steps forward, coming to a stop when he noticed stairs leading… somewhere. He rushed towards them, convinced they were a way out of this place. He was almost there when he stopped abruptly, suddenly noticing that he wasn’t alone in the place._

_Standing next to the stairs was a cloaked figure, their entire body obscured. Kai couldn’t make out their face even if he tried and he wondered how the person could see._

_“Hey…” The person said suddenly, in a hushed voice._

_Kai glanced around, confused. Was the person addressing him?_

_“Yes, I’m talking to you, Kai.”_

_Kai flinched as the person called his name. Frowning, he took a few steps towards the person._

_“You know my name?” He asked, hesitantly._

_“You probably know mine, too. But that’s besides the point.” The person muttered._

_Before Kai could question the strange comment, the person suddenly leaned closer to him. Kai thought he should probably move away but for some reason, Kai felt like he could trust the person._

_“Anyways, I wanted to ask…” The person whispered. “Wanna hear a secret?”_

_Kai frowned at the peculiar question but nodded._

_“Don’t go up the stairs.”_

_Kai moved back, his frown deepening._

_“But that’s my only way out!” Kai protested._

_The person nodded and sighed._

_“And that is precisely why you can’t go.”_

_Kai stayed silent for a few seconds, frowning in confusion._

_“Why don’t you come too?” He asked._

_“I wish I could…” The person said, their voice heavy with sorrow. “Sadly, my time here has not ended.”_

_The person fell silent and reached into their cloak, pulling out a purple hyacinth._

_“If you must go, please take this with you.” The person said, handing Kai the flower._

_Kai sighed, shaking his head as he took the flower._

_“You’re really confusing, you know that?”_

_“I know…”_

_If Kai could have seen the person’s face, he could’ve sworn they were smiling._

_And with that, he turned away and ascended the steps. He kept climbing and climbing for what felt like hours, until he finally reached a huge door. Reaching forward hesitantly, he turned the doorknob and pushed the door open._

_He smiled as a bright light began to filter into the dark room, laughing in delight when he could finally see._

_It wasn’t ideal, nor was it what he expected, but he still smiled when he saw the blue sky stretching as far as he could see._

_It did create a problem though. Where would he go from here?_

_Squinting in the light, he saw another door similar to the one he was holding open across the sky. It wasn’t too far but Kai had no idea how to get there._

_As he stood there, lost in thought, the other door suddenly flew open and Kai was shocked to see his Hyungs standing there._

_Soobin stood at the front, as though protecting the others behind him._

_Their expressions were all twisted in sorrow._

_And as he watched, Soobin beckoned him to step forward._

_It seemed like an impossible task but at the end of the day, Kai trusted his Hyung._

_He took a deep breath, closed his eyes, and took a step forward._

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The last dream chapter shud be out tmr! See you there!
> 
> Y'all can fangirl with me at...  
> Tumblr:@minisuga127  
> Twitter:@MiniSuga127
> 
> Comments motivate me!💜 thx for reading!


	7. The Dream Chapter: Clue

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> OMGGGG i have no idea how, but i somehow managed to get this chapter up in time. i rly thought i'd have to postpone it till tmr oof. HAVE FUN GUYS WITH THE LAST DREAM CHAPTER.

“Ugh…” Taehyun sighed as he sat back. “Soobin Hyung really does sleep like a baby…”

Taehyun had done all he could, even going so far as to slap the sleeping boy, but he didn’t budge.

He frowned slightly when he didn’t hear an immediate response from Kai who had gone back to sit down.

“Kai?” He asked, turning around. 

His eyes landed on the sleeping maknae and he sighed heavily.

“Of course…” He muttered quietly to himself.

He slowly stood, frowning at the sight before him. In the short time he had spent in Room 17, he hadn’t been very impressed. Of course, he hadn’t been expecting the legend to be true, but he did think there would be _something_ strange about it. As it happened, Taehyun found that there wasn’t anything that was even vaguely interesting about the room other than the fact that it looked quite well kept despite no one ever using it.

Still, in short, Taehyun had been very indifferent thus far.

But now…

He didn’t want to admit it but something about being in a supposedly haunted classroom, surrounded by his sleeping friends and standing in the eerie silence… was the slightest bit unnerving.

Still, he refused to acknowledge the nervousness slowly rising in his heart.

He shook his head and decided to busy himself in whatever he could. 

He turned off Beomgyu’s phone which was still recording and put it in the boy’s back pack. He did the same to Yeonjun’s phone which was still hooked up to the loudspeaker. And then he moved the loudspeaker back to where they had found it.

Walking back to his spot in the corner, he tried to ignore the way his footsteps seemed to echo in the quiet room.

Dispelling the thoughts immediately, he sat back down and grabbed his book.

But when he tried to continue reading, something strange happened. His eyes just wouldn’t focus on the words no matter how hard he tried. 

He blinked in confusion, the words only blurring more.

Sighing, he put down the book, wondering why he even wanted to read it in the first place.

All he really wanted to do was sleep, like all his friends.

Before long, Taehyun had leaned back, shut his eyes and fallen asleep.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

_Taehyun knew he should probably be terrified._

_After all, he was in a dark room, illuminated by a dim light that came from nowhere._

_But there was something almost calming about it. It wasn’t what he was used to but he was content with it. He accepted it._

_Deep inside, he knew that even if his feelings had been different, this is all there would ever be. He would always be in the dark room, so it was better to just accept it._

_He walked forward aimlessly, not caring where he went or what he encountered._

_He wouldn’t encounter anything, he reasoned._

_There was nothing to encounter in the dark room after all._

_Not a moment had gone by since the thought, when Taehyun stopped abruptly, unable to believe his eyes._

_There in the middle of the dark room, in the middle of nowhere… Was a field of flowers._

_Beautiful purple flowers, growing out of nowhere, covering the room as far as he could see._

_It was a sight to behold, but for some reason, it made Taehyun feel anxious. The dark room when it was empty did not scare him, but a field of flowers was enough to put him on edge._

_It was out of the norm. It was strange. And it was different. Taehyun was not used to it and his mind told him it was trouble._

_Still, if he could learn to accept the dark room, he could accept this._

_Sighing, he began to walk forward into the flowers, his uneasiness growing the farther he got._

_He walked for what felt like ages until finally he saw something that made his heart lift._

_He was far away, but Taehyun immediately recognized his Yeonjun Hyung. He was sitting in a chair and while Taehyun had no idea why, he found that he really didn’t care. It was a familiar face after all, it didn’t matter what he was doing._

_“Yeonjun Hyung!” He called, waving excitedly._

_But the boy didn’t respond. He tried a few more times, but no matter how loud he yelled, the boy remained silent._

_Frowning, Taehyun began to walk closer and as he did, his eyes widened in horror._

_His Yeonjun Hyung sat slumped over on the chair, clearly dead, if the blood covering him was anything to go by. What’s more was that he was surrounded by purple hyacinths._

_It was as if someone had thrown them onto him deliberately, in some sort of sick, twisted decoration._

_Taehyun knelt down in front of him, overcome with emotion, only to notice a book lying on the floor near him._

_Tearing his eyes away from Yeonjun, he grabbed the book and opened it to the front cover._

_Written on it was the number 17 and the word CLUE._

_“What could this mean…?”_

_Taehyun glanced up and around him, realizing that he hated the color purple at the moment._

_“The flowers… What are they even doing here?”_

_“The flowers…”_

_Taehyun gasped as he heard a low voice right behind him. He whipped around to face a cloaked figure kneeling down near him,_

_“The flowers… are a clue…”_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> just a heads up, i may or may not be taking a short break after this chapter or the next. theres a high chance that i will but i wont be abandoning this work. im just taking a break to focus on my other wips, so in the meantime u can go look at my other txt fic! its called Broken Mirror, Eternal Dream and its complete! its based off cant you see me and i had so much fun with it. (shameless self promo i know but sometimes u gotta XD)
> 
> Y'all can fangirl with me at...  
> Tumblr:@minisuga127  
> Twitter:@MiniSuga127
> 
> Comments motivate me!💜 thx for reading!


	8. Just Our Imagination

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> it took me way too long to get back to this :(  
> BUT STREAM BLUE HOUR!!!  
> it was beautiful and i may or may not be planning a lil thing for the mv... :)  
> anywhooooo have fun!!

_ “Tomorrow…” _

_ “Promise?” _

Soobin jerked awake, a gasp leaving him as his eyes flew open. He put a hand over his heart, barely registering that the classroom was pitch black, the lights all closed somehow.

He sat back against the mirror, trying to reel in his frantic breathing and frowned in confusion.

The dream in itself wasn’t… terrifying…

But there was something strange about it. 

Something unsettling.

It was all so confusing. 

What did it all mean? 

Why did Yeonjun look so miserable?

What was up with the book?

Soobin shook his head. There would be time to think about that later. For now, he thought it was best for all of them to get the hell out of the classroom.

Once his breathing was finally under control, he sat up and looked around, frowning worriedly when he saw that everyone else was asleep.

Were they still having their own nightmares?

Would it be ok to wake them up?

Soobin sighed and decided to go for it. The longer they spent here, the weirder things would get, he was sure of it.

Crawling forward, he quickly shook Beomgyu awake. 

The boy’s eyes flew open, a soft gasp leaving him. His gaze locked onto Soobin’s, making the older sigh slightly when he saw the nervous fear in his eyes.

“Beomgyu, come on, we’re leaving.” He said shortly.

Beomgyu seemed to have not heard him. He just blinked and sat up, grabbing his phone and swiping it open, his fingers flying over the screen almost frantically.

Soobin shook his head and moved on. He didn’t have time to question the strange behavior right now.

He crept over to Yeonjun, who was leaning against the wall, sleeping peacefully.

“Yeonjun.” Soobin whispered, shaking the boy.

Yeonjun slowly woke up, his eyes immediately betraying him and showing the intense terror in his eyes. Soobin paused and stared at him worriedly.

What had he dreamt about?

But again, he reminded himself that there was no time for that right now.

“Yeonjun, come on. Help me wake the others and let’s get out of here.”

Again, Soobin didn’t wait for an answer and simply rushed over to Kai, who was closest to him. He gently shook the boy awake, watching worriedly as he slowly opened his eyes.

Despite the circumstances, Soobin felt a small smile form on his face when all he saw on Kai’s face was confusion. At least their maknae had been spared a terrifying experience from the looks of it.

“Hyung?” Kai muttered, sleepily. “Are you ok?”

Soobin sighed and shook his head minutely.

“I’m... fine. Just…”

“Taehyunnie…”

Soobin turned when he heard Yeonjun’s shaky whisper. The boy had apparently broken out of his trance to wake up Taehyun, who was currently clinging to Yeonjun tightly.

“What’s wrong…?” Soobin asked, moving over to him and staring worriedly when he saw the way both boys were shaking.

“I don’t know…” Yeonjun muttered, his voice distant. “He started crying and now he won’t let me go.”

“Taehyunnie…” Soobin put a gentle hand on the boy’s shoulder. “Taehyunnie, please look at me.”

Taehyun slowly turned his face to look at Soobin, wide teary eyes staring at him imploringly.

“Taehyunnie, what’s wrong?” 

Maybe it was a stupid question, but Soobin really just wanted to hear the boy speak.

Taehyun shook his head, his fists tightening into Yeonjun’s shirt.

“He- Yeonjun Hyung was-” Taehyun cut himself off abruptly and turned his face away again, refusing to speak any more.

Yeonjun was staring down at him, his eyes still holding that horrified gaze that was there ever since he woke up.

“Hyung, we should leave.”

Soobin flinched and nodded, almost forgetting about Kai sitting behind him.

“Yes, let’s go.” Soobin nodded and stood.

“But…” Yeonjun stood slowly, helping Taehyun up in the process, his eyes on Soobin now. “What time is it?”

Soobin pulled his phone out of his pocket and glanced at the screen.

“It’s almost 3 AM right now.” Soobin told him. “No one has to know we didn’t stay the entire night.”

“Let’s go to my house.” Yeonjun suggested. “My parents are out of state anyways and all of your parents think yall are at my place anyways.”

Soobin nodded, grabbing Kai’s hand and sighing when he caught sight of Beomgyu still on the floor.

He was sitting there, his head in one hand, while the other was gripping his phone tightly.

“Beomgyu, come on.” Soobin said, gently, crouching down in front of him. “We’re leaving.”

Beomgyu sighed heavily and nodded slowly. He wordlessly held out a hand and Soobin stood, helping him up.

Soobin took one last glance at the dark classroom before turning away and walking towards the door.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

“Over there guys!”

Soobin blinked hard and shook his water soaked bangs out of his eyes. He sighed in frustration, glancing up at the sky angrily.

As if they didn’t have enough to deal with, it had to be pouring outside.

He tightened his hand around Beomgyu’s when he felt it slipping again.

It was an understatement to say that Soobin was worried about his friends. He was beyond worried at this point.

Yeonjun’s eyes still hadn’t lost the fearful darkness that had overtaken them. He seemed to be trying his best to forget about whatever he had dreamt about, but he was failing miserably.

Taehyun stuck to Yeonjun’s side the entire time they ran to his house. He would glance at his Hyung every few seconds, as if terrified that the boy might disappear if he didn’t. He hadn’t let go of his hand once since leaving the classroom.

Beomgyu seemed to be lost in an entirely different world. His eyes were blank and he kept clutching his phone tightly, but his grip on Soobin’s hand was loose. If Soobin wasn’t holding on as tightly as he was, he would have lost him a long time ago. He wouldn’t look at anyone and hadn’t said a word since waking up.

Kai seemed to be doing ok, all things considered. He looked the slightest bit anxious but mostly confused. Mostly, Soobin could tell that the boy was worried about his Hyungs.

As for himself…

Soobin still didn’t know how to describe how he felt about this entire situation. He wanted to say that he was doing ok as well and was just confused like Kai.

But in reality, the dream had shaken something inside Soobin.

He never wanted to see the world that he saw in his dream.

“Guys, this way, come on.”

Soobin shook his head and glanced up to see Yeonjun leading everyone to the back door of his house. The eldest held open the door, waiting as everyone rushed in.

Soobin let the youngers in first, sighing heavily when the five of them were finally inside.

He turned back as Yeonjun closed the door behind him, his head bowed, gaze trained on the floor.

As Soobin watched, Yeonjun looked up slowly, trying to smile when he saw Soobin looking at him.

But Soobin didn’t smile back as he tore his gaze away from the fear in Yeonjun’s eyes.

“We should have listened to her.” He said, his voice flat.

Maybe it was a coincidence?

But that wasn’t even a question in any of the boys' heads.

There was a limit to how crazy things could get.

And Nightmare Corridor had torn all of their expectations to shreds.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Soobin dearly wished they didn’t have to relay all their dreams to each other. It wasn’t that he couldn’t stand to relive it, it was just that he hated seeing his friends relive their own terrifying tales.

But none of the boys backed down from the suggestion, voicing that they had all had the same thoughts.

By the end of their little storytelling session, none of the boys could look at each other.

Soobin was more terrified at the obvious connections between their dreams than the dreams themselves.

Yeonjun had seen his death and so had Taehyun.

Kai, Taehyun, and Yeonjun had all seen the same cloaked person.

And all five of them had come across a strange book.

What could it all mean?

Taehyun wouldn’t stop crying silently.

Yeonjun couldn’t shake the fear from his eyes.

Beomgyu stayed eerily silent, only speaking when necessary and staring off into space when he did.

Kai could only glance at all his Hyungs worriedly.

And Soobin still didn’t know what to do.

Would these dreams come true? What were they even foretelling?

“They can’t… They can’t come true.” Taehyun muttered into the silence as if reading Soobin’s mind.

“They won’t, Taehyun, don’t worry.” Kai said, putting a hesitant hand on the smaller boy’s shoulder.

“How can we be so sure?” Yeonjun asked, his tone incredulous but his eyes desperately searching for an escape.

“Guys…” Beomgyu spoke up suddenly.

Soobin glanced over to him, frowning worriedly when he saw the way he was staring at his phone again.

The screen was open on his camera roll and he was scrolling through it frantically, his confused eyes searching it frantically.

“What is it, Beomie?” Soobin asked, leaning forward.

“You know how I mentioned that I made a video in my dream?” He asked, looking up slowly at the questioning gazes.

Taehyun’s eyes widened in understanding. 

“Don’t tell me…”

Beomgyu shook his head, sighing in frustration as he lowered his hand to the floor.

“I checked my phone when I woke up, but we were in such a hurry to get out and I just couldn’t wrap my head around it at the time but…” Beomgyu lifted his phone up. “The video was actually there.”

“Looks like it might still be there…” Taehyun said, slowly pointing at the video on the end of Beomgyu’s camera roll.

Everyone glanced at him expectantly, but the boy shook his head, clicking on the video. The video was only a black screen that played for exactly 17 seconds before ending.

“When we left the classroom, it went black.” Beomgyu explained. “I wanted to show you guys…”

The boys fell silent for a few seconds before Taehyun sniffed and sighed, shaking his head.

“Maybe you just imagined it?” Taehyun said. “We can’t go back there regardless…”

Beomgyu nodded, setting his phone down.

“Maybe we imagined the whole thing…” He muttered, his voice betraying him, making it clear that he didn’t believe his words.

“Let’s hope.” Kai said, his voice the slightest bit sarcastic. “Just our imagination…”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'll prolly be posting two more chapters in the coming weeks before disappearing again... hehe
> 
> Y'all can fangirl with me at...  
> Tumblr:@minisuga127  
> Twitter:@MiniSuga127
> 
> Comments motivate me!💜 thx for reading!


	9. Bad Feeling

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> heyoooo  
> next chapterrrrr

Soobin knew they couldn’t stay inside the house all day, despite that being the only thing any of them seemed capable of doing at the moment.

Yeonjun’s parents were out on a business trip and even though there were five teenage boys in the house, a heavy silence shrouded the area.

Since waking up, they hadn’t done much.

None of them felt like having breakfast, but doing nothing made their thoughts run wild.

But as it was, even moving seemed like too much at the moment.

The boys mostly wandered around aimlessly, lost in their own thoughts.

Soobin had done at least three laps around the house, going through all kinds of negative emotions, almost tearing up at some point.

Finally, the irritation began to set in and Soobin decided he had enough.

“Alright guys…” He said, the quiet mutter echoing through the house loudly.

Beomgyu, who was sitting near the stairs, his knees pulled up to his chest, glanced up momentarily.

Soobin almost lost his courage when he saw the dazed look in the boy’s eyes. But he glanced away and shook his head sharply before sighing heavily.

“Maybe… We should get out for a bit…?” For all the courage he had gathered, his question ended up sounding rather hesitant.

“Is that really a good idea?” Taehyun asked from where he was sitting on the rocking chair.

Yeonjun, who was sitting on the floor near Taehyun, glanced up at Soobin expectantly.

“I think it’s a good idea…” Kai spoke up, coming in from the kitchen, a box of cookies in one hand, worried eyes trained on everyone.

He walked into the living room and sighed, gesturing for Soobin to sit back down, guessing that he was probably at a loss for words again.

Soobin obediently sat back down, smiling wryly at the role reversal.

Soobin was always the one who took care of the others when things got bad and Yeonjun would take care of him when he needed it.

But the crazy circumstances had changed all that, forcing their youngest to take charge and take care of his Hyungs.

If the situation wasn’t so strange, Soobin would’ve praised the boy endlessly, proud to see him taking the lead.

But as it was… Soobin couldn’t seem to find the right words for anything anymore.

“We should probably go do something to get our minds off of this.” Kai said. “I don’t think we should go alone though…”

“Right…” Yeonjun agreed, his voice a soft whisper.

“And before we go  _ anywhere _ … We all have to eat something.” Kai said, sternly. “I know you’re all probably not hungry… Trust me, neither am I…”

His voice went quiet towards the end, as he walked around and handed each of them a few cookies.

“But we should have something in our stomachs or we’re just setting ourselves up for disaster.” 

The words were muttered darkly and Soobin thought they might be a bit dramatic but honestly he didn’t hold it against the boy.

The house fell silent again, Kai making sure that everyone ate their cookies. It took him a few tries to get Beomgyu to snap out of his daze and start eating but eventually Kai was satisfied enough to state that they were ready to leave the house.

“Ok, guys-”

Before Kai could say anything else, three knocks sounded at the front door making everyone jump and turn wide eyes towards it. When no one moved to answer the door, the knocks came again, sounding the slightest bit rushed and frantic.

Kai hesitantly moved forward and peeked through the peephole before frowning in confusion.

“It’s Hyunjin…”

Soobin tilted his head in confusion at Kai’s words.

_ Hyunjin? _

_ What was he doing here? _

Hyunjin was one of Kai and Beomgyu’s friends and from the looks of it, neither of them had told him where they were. Hyunjin would have no other reason to come to Yeonjun’s house other than seeing his friends.

Seeing as it was a friend standing by the door, Kai didn’t wait any longer to open the door and let the boy inside.

“Kai. are you guys ok?” Hyunjin asked as soon as he got inside.

Kai was taken aback by the question and had no idea how to answer it. And so he simply frowned in confusion and shrugged.

“Um, yeah I guess so?” He muttered.

Hyunjin just looked at him sorrowfully. He looked up and swept his gaze across the room, eyes settling on each blank face.

He sighed heavily and shook his head, placing a hand on Kai’s shoulder.

“Yeji told me what happened.” He said slowly. “She thought this might happen. She wanted us to keep an eye on you guys.”

“Us?” Beomgyu asked, his voice distant.

Hyunjin nodded, turning to him.

“Mhm, I told Chan and the others as well.” Hyunjin stated. “Come on, let’s get you guys out of here first.”

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Soobin wouldn’t realize it until much later, but the strange feeling in his heart that was telling him this was a bad idea had been right.

They shouldn’t have left the house that day.

Maybe if they’d stayed put things would’ve been different.

But as it happened, the five boys immediately followed Hyunjin to Chan’s house, allowing their eight Hyungs to help them ease the trauma in their hearts.

If Soobin could relay what happened that day, he would, but he mostly tuned everything out, thoughts silent and loud at the same time.

He knew that Chan and the others never let them just sit around. They took them places, they talked to them.

Anything to get their minds away from the Corridor.

Soobin thought they may have taken them to movies or to laser tagging but he couldn’t be sure.

All he really remembered was the way hopelessness clearly set into their gazes by the end of the day.

Soobin felt bad, but of course, what could they do?

They hadn’t been there with the five so they had no idea what they were going through. He vaguely wondered why Yeji herself hadn’t come to help them, but he wrote it off as her not being as close to them.

By the time Soobin finally snapped out of his daze, he discovered that it was nighttime and that the five of them were heading back to Yeonjun’s house on their own.

Frowning in confusion, he vaguely remembered Chan insisting to take them home but eventually leaving them alone when Beomgyu desperately told them they’d rather be alone.

Again, Soobin sighed, feeling bad that Chan and the others would probably guilt themselves over not being able to help.

It would take time, that was for sure.

And Soobin knew the boys would probably check up on them everyday.

But that was of course in the case that things had been different…

As it was, the dreams in the Nightmare Corridor were only the beginning of their worries.

Soobin really hated the way his mind kept drifting off without him, only for it to come back at the most random time to confuse him more.

The second time he came back to reality, he heard the sound of laughter.

Blinking in confusion, he settled his gaze on Kai who was straying from the sidewalk to follow a black cat he had spotted into a park.

“Kai, what are you doing?” Yeonjun called.

“I’m following the cat.” Kai stated simply.

“Why?” Taehyun asked, brows furrowed.

Kai stopped and shrugged, staring as the cat stopped with him.

“I wanna be normal again…” Kai muttered. “I just wanna stop thinking about it.”

Soobin’s heart twinged at the slight frustration and desperation in Kai’s voice. They’d all been through a terrifying experience, but strangely enough all the responsibility had somehow fallen on Kai. 

It must have been overwhelming for the boy.

They owed it to him to be there for him, but all of them had basically signed off since the experience.

It was that more than anything that made Soobin sigh and nod, walking forward to join Kai.

“Alright Kai… I guess a little detour can’t hurt.”

Kai smiled softly, the strain in his eyes fading slightly as he glanced at Soobin.

“Come on, you guys.” Soobin said, turning back to the others, trying to convey the message with his eyes.

_ Let’s do this for Kai… _

The others all exchanged glances but ended up joining in the end.

One look at them told Soobin they were still skeptical and wanted to get home asap, but would do this to put Kai at ease.

Soobin would be lying if he said he didn’t feel the same way.

A strange fear gripped his heart, telling him that something really bad would happen if they kept following the cat, but he shook his head, shoving the thoughts aside and focusing solely on Kai.

And honestly, it did put his heart a little at ease to see Kai smile and laugh as he chased after the cat. He even allowed himself a small smile seeing the light in the boy’s eyes.

He glanced back to check on the others, heart sinking a little when they gave him hesitant smiles before going back to their anxious states.

How Soobin wished he could go back in time and never go to the Corridor.

“Oh, what’s this?”

Soobin turned back when Kai asked the question, eyes immediately zeroing in on his surroundings.

In their wild goose chase, they’d somehow ended up in a forest preserve of sorts, surrounded by towering trees.

Now seemed like a good time to leave.

But Kai was focused on the steep incline in front of him. It was so steep that no one could possibly walk up it without slipping countless times.

That’s when Soobin noticed the stone steps carved into the hill, obviously proving him right. No one could get up there without the stairs.

“Come on, let’s follow it.” Kai said happily, taking the first step up.

The fear from before returned full force when Kai kept going and Soobin had no idea why he was feeling this way.

Something told him going up the stairs was a bad idea.

But Kai was already running off, bounding up the stairs, his laughter echoing off the trees.

“Kai, wait!” Soobin yelled, making a wild dash for his friend. “Come back!”

There were more stairs than Soobin thought and by the time he got to the top, he was out of breath.

Luckily, Kai had stopped running and was waiting for them at the top of the hill.

Soobin moved aside, making room for the others to come up behind him.

“Kai, I think we should go home now.” Taehyun stated.

Kai sighed, sweeping his gaze around the forest from the high vantage point and nodded.

“The cat just vanished though…” He said slowly. “Like… It just disappeared in front of my eyes…”

“Maybe you just imagined the cat.” Yeonjun said, uncertainly. “Anyways, let’s get off this hill.”

And they would have done just that if Soobin hadn’t miscalculated the amount of limited space on the top of that hill.

He had taken one too many steps back and so the next time he moved, his foot slipped making him gasp in surprise as he tumbled down the other side of the hill.

“Hyung!” 

The others didn’t hesitate in sliding down after the maknae to see if their friend was ok.

Soobin sighed in frustration, sitting up and pressing a hand against his head.

“Are you ok?” Yeonjun asked, crouching down next to him.

Soobin nodded, wincing at the slight pain in his head.

“I hit my head on the way down but I think I’m fine.” He glanced up and sighed. “How are we going to get back up?”

Taehyun followed his gaze and sighed as well.

“Logically, there should be a way around the hill, but it looks like this one stretches on forever….” He said, trailing off.

Soobin stared at the imposing trees, the starless sky, and the tall hill standing in their way.

The fear settled back in this heart and he dropped his gaze.

“We need to get out of here somehow…” Soobin said. “We need to get home.”

“I’ve got a bad feeling about this…” Beomgyu whispered, nervous eyes sweeping the forest.

Kai stood and sighed, his face stern as he switched back to responsible maknae mode.

“Alright, don’t worry, you guys. We’ll-”

But before he could finish his sentence, an ear splitting scream echoed throughout the forest.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> there shud be a couple more coming soon!  
> shameless self promo but keep an eye out for my new fic coming in a few days (maybe even today)
> 
> Y'all can fangirl with me at...  
> Tumblr:@minisuga127  
> Twitter:@MiniSuga127
> 
> Comments motivate me!💜 thx for reading!


	10. Goodbye

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this chapter was rly fun to write but...  
> ANYWAYS happy reading :)

The boys all glanced at each other, eyes wide with fear. They all wanted to ask what the heck that was but seemed to have lost the ability to speak.

“Is it too late to run?” Yeonjun finally whispered.

Soobin glanced behind him, knowing full well they wouldn’t be able to scale the hill fast enough to avoid whatever was happening not too far away from them.

“Maybe…” He whispered. “Maybe we can start walking and maybe we’ll find our way home?”

He had never said something with so much uncertainty before but the fact of the matter was, they were now stuck in a horror movie with no escape in sight.

The loud scream sounded again, a desperate undertone to it.

“What the heck is happening?” Taehyun muttered.

“Let’s start walking you guys.” Kai said, moving forward and pulling out his phone. “I don’t wanna sound dramatic but I think we might be witnesses to a crime scene very soon. I’m gonna try calling the police.”

The boys didn’t say a word, just glanced at each other once more before standing and following their maknae into the forest.

Soobin watched anxiously as Kai frowned suddenly and turned back.

“My phone keeps glitching? There’s no signal at all…”

Beomgyu let out a hysterical laugh and shook his head.

“Of course… This isn’t real, right? We’re all just dreaming, aren’t we?”

Yeonjun sighed and put an arm around the boy’s shoulder.

“I wish that were true, Beomgyu…”

The five boys dissolved into silence once more, walking even deeper into the dark forest.

Eventually the sound of screams became mixed with the sounds of… swords?

At least that’s what it sounded like from a distance. But… people didn’t use swords anymore?

Soobin flinched back suddenly when he caught sight of a flash of light heading towards them.

“Guys, watch out!” He yelled.

Thankfully, everyone jumped out of the way just in time, watching in horror as the bright light hit a nearby tree like lightning and burned a hole through it before dissolving.

What exactly had they stepped into?

This looked like a scene from Harry Potter but was far from being alluringly magical.

Had they really stepped in on some wizards fighting?

“Sh-should we keep moving?” Kai asked, fearfully.

Just as Soobin was about to respond in the negative, another scream sounded, this time closer, and Soobin finally realized it was an angry scream and not a terrified one.

“Let’s hide.” He whispered, before immediately taking advantage of the thick wall of trees and foliage all around them.

The others followed him without a word, huddling together in the bushes and barely making a sound.

Soobin was glad he had suggested that they hide because not a second later, a dark figure came into view.

Against his better judgement, Soobin leaned forward a bit, peeking through the trees to make out the figure’s features.

The first thing he noticed was his silver hair, streaked with red. The man was heading into the clearing right in front of them, limping as he did so. He was bleeding from several places and while pain was present in his face, so was pure anger.

He was dragging a long sword across the ground in one hand, the other hand holding what appeared to be a ball of electricity.

He stopped walking to glance behind him and growl in frustration.

“Chen!” The man yelled suddenly, making all five boys jump. “This isn’t going to make things better for you! What are you even gonna get out of killing me?! Too scared to kill Suho so you go for his second in command?!”

“Not at all…” A low and dangerous voice responded.

Soobin gasped softly and turned his head to see a black haired man slowly walking towards the silver hair man.

Soobin guessed that he must be Chen and shuddered at the way the man was smirking.

“I just know how to play my cards, Baekhyun.” Chen continued. “Everyone knows you and Suho fight together. And that’s why you’re undefeatable. I just have to take you out of the picture first before I can take Suho.”

“And why destroy EXO in the first place?” Baekhyun yelled. “If you want to be the leader, do it the proper way, or just make your own team!”

“Did you forget who we are?!” Chen roared suddenly. “We’re EXO! No one in their right minds would join forces with any of us!”

Chen closed his eyes and took a calming breath before smiling again.

“Besides, why should I go through all that trouble when all I really need to do is kill you two?”

Soobin thought that one of them should at least have enough sense to stop talking and start fighting, but at the same time he wished both of them would just disappear somehow so they could get out of this situation.

As it was, none of the two disappeared and none of the two stopped talking.

Baekhyun seemed to be trying a different tactic and resorted to reason.

“Chen, please think about what you’re doing. I’ll step back, just win against Suho in a harmless duel and you’ll get what you want. Why does it have to be this way?”

Chen shook his head, sighing in exasperation.

“You really don’t get it, do you?” Chen muttered. “If I play by the rules, I’ll never win. It’s always been like this. Or do I need to remind you how many times I’ve already gone against him? Besides, Suho can’t even lead properly! It’s his fault we lost so many people last week! If he had just listened to me and kept fighting, we’d wouldn’t be in this situation! Don’t you see, Baekhyun? I’m doing this for EXO…”

Baekhyun glared daggers at Chen, slowly shaking his head as he clenched his fist.

“No…” He whispered. “You’re doing this for yourself.”

And with that, he threw his fist forward, letting go of the ball of light in his hand.

Like lightning, Chen threw his arms up in front of his face, a transparent wall materializing in front of him.

The sparks died out but Baekhyun wasn’t finished yet.

He rushed forward, striking with his sword, but Chen lifted his own just in time for the two to connect with a loud clang.

Soobin watched as if in a trance as the two chased each other with their swords and countless other strange magical looking tricks.

Chen seemed to be throwing flames at his silver haired enemy, while Baekhyun tried to counter it with his electricity.

They used countless other methods that Soobin had only ever read about in stories.

Super speed, teleportation, telekinesis, and several others that he’d never seen before.

He had to be dreaming…

None of this could be real.

The more he watched, the more unsettled he felt.

Something wasn’t right…

The sense of foreboding in his heart only grew by the second and suddenly he caught sight of Kai in his peripheral vision.

The boy seemed just as entranced as Soobin felt, but he seemed to have forgotten that they were supposed to be hiding.

In the time they had been watching, Kai had crept closer and closer to the edge of their little hiding place, getting dangerously close to being spotted.

“Kai!” He whisper yelled, but the boy didn’t seem to hear him. “Kai, get ba-”

Soobin’s call was cut off by a loud crash and he whipped around to see that Baekhyun seemed to be on the losing end of this fight.

Chen had somehow thrown him against a tree and the silver haired man was now lying on the floor, struggling to rise.

As Baekhyun slowly got to his knees and pressed a hand against his head, Chen walked over and sighed, shaking his head.

“Such a pity…” Chen muttered. “Honestly, I liked you. You were a good friend. Maybe if you had just agreed to stepping aside when I first told you, this wouldn’t have had to happen.”

As Baekyun looked up, Chen raised his left hand, a strange purple mist surrounding it. Baekhyun shook his head as the ball of mist grew.

“You wouldn’t…” He said, his whisper ending in a weak cough.

Chen only grinned.

“Oh, but I would. I’m sad you don’t seem to know me very well.”

Chen extended his hand slowly, aiming it at Baekhyun, his grin fading.

“Goodbye Baekyun.”

Just at that second, Kai seemed to have had enough and he ever so slightly, shifted away from the scene.

Unfortunately for him, the slight rustling of leaves didn’t go unnoticed by either of the two men.

It happened in a split second, but Baekyun turned his head, eyes widening, as Chen completely turned around, his aim shifting and launching the purple mist straight at Kai.

Before anyone could do anything, the mist hit Kai square in the chest, making his eyes widen before the impact made him fall backwards as the mist enveloped him.

Everyone, including the two fighters, froze, all eyes on Kai, watching as the mist slowly faded, leaving the unconscious boy in its wake.

For a few seconds, no one moved or made a sound, silence shrouding everything before-

“KAI!!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> :(((
> 
> Y'all can fangirl with me at...  
> Tumblr:@minisuga127  
> Twitter:@MiniSuga127
> 
> Comments motivate me!💜 thx for reading!


	11. Lyra

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm back!  
> im sure yall curious after last time but u might hafta wait a bit more :( sryyyy  
> anywayssss, onto the chapter!

Not a second passed after Soobin’s devastated scream before the two bad guys jumped into action.

“Taehyun, watch out!”

Soobin barely turned his head when a ball of black mist hit Taehyun hard, sinking into his chest just before the boy’s eyes fluttered shut, his body falling to the ground beside Kai.

“Leave them alone, Chen!” Baekyun yelled. “Why are you doing this?! They’re innocent!”

Soobin crawled over to the two maknaes, barely registering the conversation behind him as he gripped both of their hands tightly. As he dragged in panicked breaths, he vaguely noticed how Kai’s hand felt too cold and Taehyun’s felt too hot.

He had no idea what had happened to them but he couldn’t get his mind to focus on anything at the moment.

“Soobin, come on, we can’t stay here!”

Soobin ignored Yeonjun’s call, jerking away violently when his Hyung tried to lift him off the floor.

“NO! I’m not leaving them!”

“Soobin,  _ please _ , we-”

“Hyung!”

Soobin gasped at Beomgyu’s desperate yell just as another ball of mist collided with Yeonjun’s back, sending him to ground as his eyes fell shut.

“Hyung, what should we do?!” Beomgyu cried.

Soobin didn’t know. He really didn’t know.

It took all his willpower not to dissolve into a panic attack right then and there.

“Hyung, look…” 

Soobin turned, confused by the sudden change in Beomgyu’s voice. He followed his gaze back to the two fighting men and was surprised to see that Baekhyun was holding Chen back despite the obvious pain he was in.

“He’s giving us a chance.” Beomgyu muttered, staring at the scene. “Let’s go before it’s too late.”

Soobin sighed heavily, closing his eyes and letting the few tears that had gathered roll down his cheeks. He held his friends hands, squeezing them gently before finally standing and gripping Beomgyu’s hand instead.

“We’ll come back for you guys…” He muttered, sparing them one last glance before turning to Beomgyu.

The two shared a nervous glance before nodding and running off in the opposite direction.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Soobin had no idea how long they’d been running, only that it was a really long time.

The forest was never ending, the tall trees towering over them everywhere they looked. The darkness of night persisted. And the feeling of dread wouldn’t leave them alone.

The sounds of fighting were long gone, but Soobin couldn’t really hear anything over the sound of his own panicked breathing and thoughts.

What on earth had they been thrown into?

This couldn’t be real right?

None of this was real, it couldn’t be.

They were probably still in the classroom, stuck in some sick nightmare.

But the more Soobin ran, the more his lungs burned in protest, the more his eyes stung with tears, he knew it couldn’t be a dream.

This was very much real and he had no idea what to do about it.

Was this a result of their dreams? Or was this always going to happen?

Soobin couldn’t be sure, but he knew that he wanted out.

He honestly had no idea how he could run for so long when he normally hated any kind of physical activity but he supposed traumatic experiences did that to a person.

Beomgyu, on the other hand, looked like he couldn’t run anymore, if the way he kept stumbling was anything to go by.

By now, Soobin was certain there was no way they were getting out of this forest anytime soon.

And so finally, he slowed to a walk, grabbing Beomgyu’s hand to slow him down as well.

Beomgyu glanced back at him momentarily before doubling over, hands on his knees as he gasped for breath.

Soobin leaned against a nearby tree, waiting for Beomgyu to get his breathing under control.

He tilted his head up, peering at the dark sky through the trees.

The sky was strange, much too dark than what he was used to. Even though the moon was shining in the sky, it seemed much too bright, standing out against the pitch black of the sky.

Beomgyu slowly walked over to Soobin and sat down near him, sighing heavily.

“No more running?” He muttered.

Soobin shook his head minutely.

“What do we do then?” Beomgyu asked.

Soobin sighed and settled down next to Beomgyu, shrugging helplessly.

“I honestly don’t know.” He admitted. “We have no idea what this place is or how to get out of it. We’ve lost our friends. I don’t know where to go from here.”

Beomgyu sat silently for a while, his face set in a thoughtful frown.

“We should look for someone…” he muttered. “It’s clear that people live here. We need to find someone who can help us get the others and show us the way out.”

“Right, but who’s to say we won’t bump into someone like Chen? What if they try to kill us like he did?”

“We should see if we can get a hold of that guy… what was his name?” Beomgyu asked. “Ah, Baekhyun… He’s the only dude we’re sure of that won’t try to hurt us.”

“Yeah but he’s probably still fighting Chen or maybe even dead by now.”

Just then, the two heard a familiar noise. The sound of footsteps and whispers.

Soobin glanced at Beomgyu his eyes wide. The two quickly grabbed each other’s hands and crept away in the opposite direction, hiding behind some bushes.

Soobin peered through the leaves, squinting to make out two figures walking side by side. The two were talking in hushed whispers and seemed to be searching for something.

Soobin focused on the two and let out a small gasp when he realized he recognized one of them.

That was Baekhyun with his silver hair!

Most of it was streaked with red at this point and Soobin winced at the way he was leaning heavily against his companion. His hand was pressed against his side, a steady stream of red dripping onto the grass as he stumbled along.

His companion had a youthful face that was pinched with worry as he gazed down at Baekhyun and tightened his grip around the man.

The man sighed and shook his dark hair out of his eyes before stopping abruptly.

Baekhyun lifted his head and glanced at him.

“Jungkook? Why did we stop?” He muttered.

Jungkook sighed and shook his head.

“Baekhyun, are you sure you wanna do this right now?” He asked, a note of desperation in his voice. “We should get you home first so you can get help for your wounds. We can look for them right after.”

Baekhyun shook his head adamantly.

“No, we can’t. It’ll be too late by then.” He protested. “Chen’s already got three of them! We have to help.”

Jungkook simply sighed and shook his head once more, setting the silver haired man down despite his protests.

“No, listen, you sit here and I’ll go look for them.” Jungkook said sternly. “I can’t have you dying on my watch.”

“Just admit you’re tired of dragging me.” Baekhyun laughed, but ended up dissolving into a painful coughing fit.

Jungkook gave him an unimpressed glare as his coughs died out, ending in a pained groan.

“Should’ve listened to me, dumbass.” Jungkook muttered, shaking his head as he began searching the area.

“What else could I do…?” Baekhyun whispered. “If Chen becomes leader…”

“I know what’ll happen if Chen becomes leader.” Jungkook said. “But my point is, you should’ve come to Namjoon and asked him for help. BTS could’ve helped. You didn’t have to go it alone.”

Baekhyun shook his head slowly, smiling tiredly.

“You know I never ask people for things…”

“You just don’t like being in debt.”

“Same thing.”

A tap on Soobin’s shoulder suddenly brought him back to reality. He turned to Beomgyu and nodded when he saw the boy gesture that they should leave.

They began to creep away as quietly as they could but before they could even take five steps forward, something stopped them in their tracks.

“Hey, stop right there.” Jungkook said suddenly, raising his voice slightly.

Beomgyu and Soobin glanced at each other and the message was clear in their eyes.

They were gonna try looking for Baekhyun anyways so might as well do as Jungkook said.

“Stop scaring them…” Baekhyun muttered.

“Ah right…” Jungkook said, sheepishly. “Um, can you guys come out? We’re not going to hurt you. We’re trying to help you.”

At the end of the day, Soobin really didn’t know what to expect anymore, so he couldn’t help the slight anxiety in his heart as he and Beomgyu stepped out.

But then both Jungkook and Baekhyun smiled brightly at them, and somehow that made the anxiety lessen a bit.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

There were a lot of things Jungkook did after that that made absolutely no sense to either of the boys.

For one, Jungkook told them all to hold hands and close their eyes only for them to end up in a completely different place once they were allowed to see again.

Soobin figured he should be used to this by now. Apparently, the world he knew held many secrets.

They ended up in what Soobin could only assume was Jungkook’s home. It looked normal enough from what he could see but he knew not to trust his eyes at this point.

Jungkook led them to what looked like any normal living room and told them to sit tight and touch nothing.

Soobin and Beomgyu did as they were told, sitting next to each other nervously as the boy snapped his fingers and disappeared before their eyes, taking Baekhyun with him.

The two didn’t speak while they waited, only exchanged anxious glances every once in a while.

Soobin began taking a mental note of all the questions he had to ask Jungkook when he got back.

There was the obvious question of where this place was exactly? Was it a part of their world? Or was it a different world entirely?

Was there a way to get out?

Was this a dream?

Were they wizards?

And how could they get their friends back? That was the most pressing question.

Before long, Jungkook came rushing back down the stairs, looking significantly less worried with one thing off his mind.

But then his gaze fell on the two lost boys and the worry returned.

He sighed heavily, coming to a stop in front of the boys. He sat down cross legged in front of them and stared for a good few seconds before saying anything.

“Alright…” He sighed, finally. “Let’s start at the beginning. Are you two from a unit or something? I don’t think I’ve seen you guys around before…”

“We’re not… From a unit.” Soobin said, uncertainly.

“I thought so.” Jungkook said. “Where’s your family? Do you know?”

“Well, no not really.” Soobin replied. 

“Thought so.” Jungkook sighed again. “Those boys. Are they your brothers?”

Soobin shook his head.

“We’re all friends. We were just walking outside by ourselves when we stumbled upon the fight.” Soobin explained.

Jungkook’s eyes widened in surprise before he frowned in confusion.

“Walking outside at night? By yourselves? And you clearly aren’t experienced in defensive magic so… what possessed you to do something like that? Don’t you know how dangerous Lyra has become these days?” Jungkook asked, incredulously glancing between the two.

“Lyra?” Beomgyu asked. “What the heck is Lyra?”

“This is Lyra.” Jungkook said, matter-of-factly. “You guys aren’t from around here, I’m guessing…”

“No, we live in Seoul.” Beomgyu told him.

“Seoul…?” Jungkook asked. “Never heard of it…”

He trailed off, his frown deepening as his eyes gazed off into the distance thoughtfully.

“Seoul…” 

His eyes widened suddenly as he looked back up at the two.

“Seoul?!” He exclaimed suddenly, making both boys jump. “You mean to say… You’re not wizards? You’re humans?”

Beomgyu and Soobin shared a glance before nodding at the question.

“Oh my god…” he muttered. “We have to get you guys back soon.”

“Can… Can you do that?” Soobin asked nervously. 

“I can definitely try.” Jungkook said, nodding firmly. “We have to get your friends back first.”

“Will they be ok?” Beomgyu asked, a note of desperation in his voice.

“Hopefully…” Jungkook said, before dropping his gaze and sighing. “I don’t know exactly what spells Chen used but Baekhyun told me the gist of it and…”

The boy trailed off, the flash of helpless fear in his eyes visible for just a second before it vanished and he nodded firmly once more.

“They’ll be ok. You all will. We’ll get you back. I promise.”

And the boys believed him wholeheartedly.

But as Soobin nodded numbly, something told him they wouldn’t be leaving Lyra for a long time.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i love randomly introducing new characters XD  
> lets see if soobins suspicion is right...
> 
> Y'all can fangirl with me at...  
> Tumblr:@minisuga127  
> Twitter:@MiniSuga127
> 
> Comments motivate me!💜 thx for reading!


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